BLAKELY — Valley View caught a break midway through the second quarter when Abington Heights had a potential game-tying touchdown called back due to a penalty.

The top-ranked Cougars made sure they took advantage of it.

Janaasah Boone and Zack Manchak each ran for two touchdowns and Boone also passed for a third score as Valley View pulled away from the No. 10 Comets for a 48-13 victory in a Lackawanna Football Conference Division I-II crossover last Friday at John Henzes/Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“We made some mistakes early,” Valley View coach George Howanitz said. “But when our offense is doing what it’s supposed to be doing, they can put so many points on the board. Teams always seem to be fighting from behind.”

Early on, Abington Heights (0-2) hung with Valley View.

Manchak’s 18-yard touchdown run and the first of Zack Kovalchik’s six extra points gave the Cougars a 7-0 lead with 4:03 left in the first quarter.

But the Comets responded with an 11-play scoring drive. They twice converted on third down and once on fourth down before quarterback Michael Show hit Robby Horvath on a slant for 44 yards and a touchdown. Jimmy Lefchak’s kick tied the score at 7 with 10:55 left in the second quarter.

Valley View (2-0) answered with a nine-play scoring drive, capped by Boone’s 1-yard touchdown run, to make it 14-7 with 6:43 left in the second.

Again, Abington Heights appeared to come right back moments later when Show connected with Corey Perkins for a 69-yard touchdown. However, an illegal block penalty wiped out the score.

The Comets wound up punting and, two plays later, Boone ran 38 yards on a busted play to make it 21-7 with 3:37 left in the second.

Alex Savkov then intercepted Show on the ensuing possession. Eight plays later, Boone hit Dylan Howanitz for a 13-yard touchdown with 9.9 seconds left that gave the Cougars a 28-7 halftime lead.

“Football is a game of momentum and that was definitely a momentum-swinging point in the game,” Abington Heights coach Joe Repshis said. “Credit Valley View. They forced us into situations and took advantage of mistakes.”

After the nullified touchdown, the Valley View defense didn’t allow the Comets much of anything — just three first downs and 95 yards the rest of the way. Fifty-three of those yards came on a Show-to-Perkins pass play in the third quarter that set up a 5-yard touchdown pass between the two on the next play.

“That just changed the momentum for our defense,” Boone said. “We were like, ‘We just got saved, now we’ve got to work back for it.’ ”

Abington Heights fumbled on the first play of the second half and Matt Smith recovered for Valley View at the Comets 25, setting up fullback T.J. Noto’s 29-yard touchdown run two plays later that made it 35-7 with 11:28 left in the third.

Later in the third, Manchak made it 42-7 with a 3-yard touchdown run. Adam Howanitz’s 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth finished the scoring.

Contact the writer:

swalsh@timesshamrock.com;

@swalshTT on Twitter

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